The Truth About Rudolph
by Agatha S
Summary: The story about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer you've heard is the Muggle version. Wizards tell it differently.
1. The Hex

**DISCLAIMER:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a character from a story by Robert L. May and a song by Johnny Marks.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This is a story set in an unspecified place and time in the Harry Potter universe. No canon characters appear in it.

**The Truth About Rudolph**

Rudolph was a twelve-year-old wizard boy; a very ordinary boy, bright but not exceptionally smart. There was nothing very remarkable about him. His parents were a witch and a wizard of good reputation, but they were not very especially powerful or rich.

Only one member of Rudolph's family was really exceptional: his aunt Greta. Whenever she would come to visit them, she would arrive flying — not on a broomstick, but on wings, in the shape of an eagle. His parents always said Aunt Greta was just showing off — it would have been so much simpler to use the Floo Network. But they would never say that when she was around.

Eyes wide with admiration, Rudolph would watch Aunt Greta dive down from the sky into their garden and assume her human shape. He didn't **like** her; there was still something of the bird of prey about her when she was human. She had a habit of tilting her head sideways and sizing him up as if he were a mouse. Even worse, she would sometimes pinch him on the cheeks with her sharp fingernails. Still, in spite of not being fond of Aunt Greta, Rudolph had to admire her ability to turn into an animal. It was called being an Animagus, she told him.

Rudolph was ten years old when he'd first heard about this. The next day he immediately searched through his parents' books until he found a long essay about Animagi. His parents were pleasantly surprised; he'd never shown interest in learning before that.

The essay said that a wizard couldn't choose the animal he would turn into: for each witch or wizard there was only one possible animal form. Rudolph was somewhat disappointed to learn that. He had hoped his animal form would be a bird, because he wanted to be able to fly like aunt Greta.

It seemed that all he could do was try and perform the transformation, hoping that his destined animal form would turn out to be a bird.

It wasn't easy to perform the magic described in the book. The wizard who wrote it had warned about it: it was very difficult to become an Animagus. Only rare people were able to turn into animals, and those who were already able to do it as children were even more rare. It wasn't a matter of saying the proper incantation and making the proper wand movements; the transformation had to be felt on the inside, with every atom of one's body. It was very difficult to describe it precisely; the book encouraged the reader to be patient and keep trying. Once it was done for the first time, the book said, it would be much easier in the future.

Rudolph tried and tried with great enthusiasm, and his parents were glad to see their child so keen on studying. Nothing happened for more than a year. Then, when he was eleven years old, Rudolph managed to achieve at least a small part of the transformation.

He was standing in his room, his eyes firmly closed, trying to feel his body changing. And then he felt it: a strange sensation in his feet, a feeling that was both painful and tickling.

He opened his eyes and looked at his feet. They weren't there. A pair of hooves was protruding from his trousers and standing on the carpet.

Rudolph felt a strong wave of panic, and the hooves became his feet again. He decided he would never try it again. Feeling his body change had been an unpleasant experience, and besides he now knew for certain that he wasn't meant to become a bird.

He occupied his mind with other things after that — mostly with Quidditch and flying, and with exchanging nasty hexes with wizard children of his age. But he was still very much interested in Transfiguration. It was the only kind of serious magic he was always willing to practice.

* * *

Flying on a broomstick was a very enjoyable pastime and the next best thing to being a bird Animagus. Rudolph was fairly good at it, although he'd only ever used a shabby old broom belonging to his parents.

He thought that if he could only have a new broom of his own, a good model, no one would be able to fly as well as he would. Octavian, a rich wizard boy who lived in Rudolph's village, had a Nimbus 1717 and loved to show off with it. This annoyed Rudolph a lot, although he knew that he was better at flying than Octavian and that Octavian was aware of that himself.

Then, one day in December, Rudolph noticed a small article in his parents' copy of the Sunday Visionary. It was about the latest broomstick model: the Nimbus 1722, sleek and perfectly shaped, made out of wood of the highest quality. There was a small drawing of the broom printed below the article; it was zooming left and right, up and down, and Rudolph followed it with his eyes as if he were hypnotised.

He let his parents know he would like the broom as a Christmas present, but didn't dare raise his hopes too high. In the meantime he practised flying on the old broomstick. He was only allowed to fly in the nighttime, so that Muggles wouldn't see him, but that wasn't a problem in the winter. The sun would set very early, long before the time when he had to go to bed.

* * *

Rudolph took the old broomstick with him shortly after sunset on Christmas Eve and took the path that lead to the woods near his village, where he usually practiced his flying. A heavy snow had fallen the night before, and in the woods it was almost completely intact, reflecting the glow of the moon and silencing all sounds.

He stepped off the path when he reached a clearing with enough space for a good start. He took the broom off his shoulder, levitated it and prepared to mount it, but before he could do it he heard a familiar, hated voice say:

"What are you doing here with this old broom? Are you going to sweep all the snow out of the forest? How awfully nice of you!"

Rudolph let go of the broomstick, grabbed his wand and nervously looked around.

"Because surely no one would want to fly on that thing, not even you, Rudolph!"

The voice was closer this time. Rudolph turned to his left and saw Octavian standing there, lit enough by the moon for Rudolph to see the sneer on his face.

"Get lost, Octavian!" he shouted.

"You don't own the forest, Rudolph," Octavian said. After a short pause he added: "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my father owned it. It's hard to keep track of these things."

Rudolph thought it best to pretend he hadn't been listening to this. "Go away or I'll hex you!" he said, pointing his wand at the other boy. Octavian grabbed his wand too, and they spoke incantations at the same time. Every single hair on Octavian's head was suddenly standing on end and glowing, while the end of Rudolph's scarf seemed to have come alive and was slapping him in the face.

A short pause followed, during which both boys performed counter-spells on themselves. Then they faced each other again, wands at the ready. This wasn't a real wizard duel — they were only performing harmless hexes, and there were no witnesses — but, by some kind of silent agreement, they fought honourably.

They waved their wands at the same time again, and this time Octavian made Rudolph's eyes blink uncontrollably, while Rudolph turned a small part of the snow under Octavian's feet into ice. Octavian turned and looked around nervously, unsure of what it was exactly that Rudolph had done; the movement made him slip on the ice and fall flat into the snow.

Rudolph stopped the hex that was making him blink and, with a triumphant smile, watched the other boy pull himself up. His smile faded when he saw a small red stain on the snow. Octavian had obviously hit his face on something hard hidden under the snow, and his nose was bleeding. He wasn't seriously hurt, but it made no difference; no blood should have been drawn in a magical fight. Now that it happened, it was as if an invisible line had been crossed. This wasn't just a matter of two rivals testing each other's strength anymore; it was turning into something nastier, without strict rules.

Octavian hit him with a spell before he could react. Rudolph saw a strange red light appear in front of his face. The light wouldn't go away; feeling with his hands, Rudolph realised it was coming from his own nose. Octavian had somehow made his nose glow with a bright red light.

This was a hex Rudolph didn't know, so he was unable to perform a counter-curse. Octavian watched him, grinning.

"Oh, don't worry, it will only last four or five hours," Octavian said in a mocking kind voice. Rudolph raised his wand to hex him again, but at that very moment footsteps were heard on the path. Both boys looked to see who was passing by; it was a Muggle girl they knew, Christine, and her mother. The wizard code of secrecy was much more important than their fight, so they both quickly put their wands away and wished the Muggles a good evening, Rudolph holding a hand over his glowing red nose.


	2. The Elves

"Are you all right, boy?" Christine's mother asked Rudolph. "What's the matter with your nose?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just a little bit ill," Rudolph said, unable to think of a better explanation.

"Yes, be careful, Madam. I think it might be the plague. Good bye and merry Christmas!"

Octavian said all this very quickly and disappeared among the trees, taking a shortcut to his home.

"Nonsense!" the woman said, and her daughter frowned a little. To Rudolph's relief, they didn't seem to find Octavian's joke very funny.

"If you're going towards the village, walk with us," Christine's mother said in a kind voice, and Rudolph accepted. He wasn't able to think of an explanation for wanting to stay in the forest that would be acceptable for Muggles; besides, he didn't feel like flying anymore.

His broomstick was still lying there in the snow. He would ask his parents to summon it for him once he returned home.

* * *

Rudolph walked along the snow-covered path with Christine and her mother; somehow he had ended up walking side by side with Christine, although not close to her. She kept to the very left edge of the path and Rudolph kept to the right, keeping his hand over his red, glowing nose. Some of the light was still leaking out between his fingers. 

Christine was glancing at him from time to time. He knew that for certain because he was stealing glances at her as well, and a couple of times their eyes met. Her face was clearly visible in the moonlight reflected from the snow. There was pity in her eyes, but at the same time she seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh, and dimples were forming in her cheeks.

Rudolph didn't mind her laughing that much. The pity he thought he saw was harder to bear, although a small part of his mind admitted it felt rather nice.

He wished was allowed to explain everything to her. If she were a witch, she would understand that Octavian and he were fighting with hexes all the time, just to test each other's strength. He would be able to explain that he had been hit by an unfamiliar hex, and that was why his nose was red, but he was going to find a counter-curse as soon as he got home. Most of all, he wished that he could explain to her that Octavian only picked fights with him because he was jealous of his flying.

If he could only invite her to watch a Quidditch match, Rudolph thought, she would think differently of him. If she could see him fly, Christine would forget all about seeing him with an embarrassing red nose; she would respect him. He wondered whether there were any exceptions to the code of secrecy.

But of course there had to be exceptions, he thought. Some wizards and witches married Muggles and introduced them to their world, telling them all about wands and broomsticks and Quidditch…

Rudolph snapped out of his thoughts. Why was he thinking about marriage? What a horrible, horrible thing to think about! He moved even farther away from the girl, stepping into the deep snow beside the path and kicking it angrily.

That just made everything even worse. His foot hit something underneath the snow, a stone or a piece of wood; he shouted, "Ouch!" and lifted his foot, grabbing it with both hands and leaving his red nose uncovered.

"Are you all right?" Christine asked with genuine concern but — perhaps against her will — her eyes were fixed onto Rudolph's nose.

"I'm all right. Stop looking at my nose!" Rudolph said in an irritated voice and covered it with his hand again.

"I'm sorry," the girl said and looked away from him. They kept on walking in silence for a while. Rudolph was looking at the snow beneath his feet, feeling bad about the way he had spoken to Christine. He gathered his courage for a while and finally spoke:

"I didn't mean that. You can look at my nose if you want to."

He had moved the hand away from his face and was blinking in the red light shining from his nose. Christine looked at him, her face reflecting some of the reddish glow.

"It's all right, I don't need to," she said with a smile, and dimples formed on her cheeks again.

They walked in silence again, but they didn't keep to the edges of the path anymore.

Christine turned to Rudolph a few times as if she wanted to say something, but seemed to decide against it every time. Finally she said:

"You know, this is not the first time a saw a red nose today."

This was completely unexpected. At first Rudolph didn't know how to respond; then he asked her:

"What do you mean? You saw someone else today who had a red nose?"

Christine was silent for a while, and then she said:

"I can't tell you. It's really strange. You won't believe me."

Rudolph tried to convince her to tell him anyway, but to no avail. If he could only tell her that he was a wizard and that strange things didn't surprise him that much!

He didn't tell her, of course. They reached the edge of the forest very soon; after wishing him a good night and a merry Christmas, Christine and her mother turned towards their house, which was at the very edge of the forest.

Rudolph stopped and looked at the village ahead of him, with the windows glowing with warm, orange light. He felt reluctant to return home with the red nose and ask his parents to lift the hex. He felt humiliated enough already. Perhaps he could sneak past them, go into the study and search all the books for a counter-curse. Yes, that was what he was going to do.

Just when he was about to start towards his home, he heard a noise from the edge of the forest to his right: the sound of hooves, softened by the snow but still audible, the jingling of harness bells and a high-pitched voice shouting something. The sounds were rapidly becoming louder and louder; Rudolph took a few steps backwards to get out of the way. Hidden among the trees, he saw five reindeer galloping alongside the edge of the forest. They were very fast and it was dark, so he would have barely have been able to see them had they not stopped very near to the place where he was standing. Only when the reindeer stopped did Rudolph see that each one of them was pulling a sleigh full of packages, and that a child was standing in each sleigh. At least he thought they were children at first, but when he came closer, carefully covering his glowing nose, he realised he was wrong.

The small creatures looked just like house-elves, but they were wearing bright red clothes that looked like uniforms. It looked as if they had stopped because the parcels in one of the sleighs were in danger of falling off; the elves quickly gathered around the sleigh and started to rearrange them.

Rudolph stepped even closer to them and heard one of them saying:

"Quick! We must be at the Ice Palace in three hours!"

One of the elves pulled a long, narrow parcel and put it down on the snow very close to Rudolph. It was wrapped in paper, but the shape was unmistakable: it was a broomstick. Rudolph bent down to look at it. There was a piece of parchment attached to the parcel with writing in golden ink:

_Nimbus 1722_

Rudolph's heart started beating faster. He had never seen a real Nimbus 1722, and now he was standing so close to one! But it only lasted for a moment — the elves put it onto the sleigh again, together with the other packages. They fastened the packages with ropes, returned to their sleighs, cracked their whips and took off. The reindeer galloped northwards along the edge of the forest, forming little clouds of snow under their hooves.


	3. The Ice Palace

Rudolph watched the reindeer and the sleighs disappear in the distance. He felt even worse than he did a few minutes earlier. As if it wasn't enough that his nose was red and shining like a lamp, he had seen the thing he wanted more than anything in the world, only to have it taken away the very next moment. If only he could run after them — but he could never possibly run that fast! No person, wizard or Muggle, could ever outrun a reindeer.

And then it happened. The essay on Animagi he had read said that, for the first transformation to take place, the wizard had to wish for it with his whole heart and mind and with every atom of his body. And Rudolph was watching the path the reindeer had taken, overwhelmed by a strong desire to run through the snow and try to catch up with the sleighs. He forgot about his parents waiting at home, about Christmas Eve and all the cakes and presents; he forgot about his old broomstick lying there in the forest; he even forgot how pleasant it had felt to talk to Christine. Suddenly he felt that odd sensation he had felt once before, a combination of pain and tickling in his whole body. He didn't fight it this time, and before he realised what was happening he was standing on four tall legs ending with hooves, ready to run. The prints of hooves and the tracks left by the sleighs were clearly visible in the snow. Rudolph began to run.

It felt wonderful to be able to run that fast. He followed the path marked by the prints in the snow and by the scent of the reindeer, which he was suddenly able to recognize. Enjoying himself immensely, Rudolph jumped over fallen trees and leaped over streams; he kept trailing the hoof prints as they went alongside the forest for a long time and then turned left and entered it. Inside the forest the trail went through the deep, untouched snow for a while, and then it joined a large path and turned north again. Rudolph supposed this path was going to lead him to the Ice Palace — that was where the elves said they were going. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there, but he ran along the path anyway.

His nose was still glowing with a red light; he could see it, but it didn't make him blink as it had done before. His eyes had probably got used to the light, and another reason why it didn't bother him anymore was that the distance between his eyes and his nose was bigger now.

Rudolph was fairly sure he was getting closer and closer to the company he was following. He was free and therefore able to run much faster than the reindeer pulling the sleighs full of packages. However, he didn't want them to notice that he was following them, so he took care not to run too fast.

After what felt like two hours of running, although he couldn't be sure of the exact time, Rudolph paused to drink water from a small pond that wasn't completely covered by ice. The water in the pond was very still, allowing him to catch a glimpse of his reflection before he started drinking. The head of a young reindeer, with antlers that were not fully-grown yet and a shining red nose, was looking back at him from the surface of the water.

Rudolph drank some of the cold water, and then nibbled on some of the grass that was growing beside the pool. He was surprised to find that he liked its taste.

He didn't stay there too long; he just tasted the grass and then went running along the path again. The prints in the snow were still very clear, and so was the trail of the reindeer scent. He wasn't going through the forest now, but over a flat snow-covered plain with only a few trees here and there. The five reindeer pulling the sleighs were visible now, far ahead of him; the northern wind carried to him the sound of the harness bells and the voices of the elves, who seemed to be chattering all the time.

After some time a huge shape appeared on the horizon, a shimmering white building; for the first time, Rudolph felt some fear. So this was the Ice Palace he had heard about, the home of a powerful wizard called Klaus who didn't like people, Muggle or magical, to visit his hideout. Rudolph supposed that he would never be able to find it on his own, had he not been following the elves and the reindeer.

In spite of feeling insecure, Rudolph thought it would be stupid to turn and run back home now that he'd travelled that far. He wasn't running anymore; he was walking, and as he approached the palace he could see what a beautiful building it was, with high towers, arched windows and walls covered with icy sculptures.

Two statues of bears flanked the main gate, through which the sleigh-pulling reindeer entered into some kind of courtyard. Rudolph walked at some distance after them, longing to see what was inside.

When he came close to the two bears, one of them moved his head very slightly and looked at Rudolph's nose. For a moment Rudolph thought his heart was going to stop beating; then he felt it pounding wildly in his chest. These two were no ice statues! They were real, living polar bears!

Rudolph made up his mind in a few seconds. It was too late to turn and run away now; if he did that, the bears would know for certain that he was an intruder and would pursue and probably kill him. He thought it would be much safer to enter the palace — after all, reindeer passed through these gates anyway, and the bears might not think it strange at all.

Trying to look brave, Rudolph slowly walked between the bears.

"Hey, what happened to your nose?" one of the bears asked.

Rudolph froze for a moment, completely bewildered. Then he remembered that Animagi could speak to animals; the author of the essay he'd read had said so, and Aunt Greta had often told them gossip she had heard from other birds when she was flying.

"I had a row with a nasty human," he replied truthfully. He felt as if he was forming the words in his own language, but they came out as a series of low grunts.

The bear nodded, as if to show that he knew all about nasty humans, and then asked:

"Looking for a job here?"

"Yes," Rudolph said, grateful that he had a legitimate reason to enter the Ice Palace.

"You've come at the last moment; Klaus should be starting out any minute now. You'll probably find him in the courtyard."

"Thanks," Rudolph said and tried to pretend that this was good news for him, although it really wasn't: the last thing he wanted to do was to run into Klaus himself. But there was definitely no going back now. He walked into the courtyard and looked around.

A sleigh the size of a large carriage, made of wood and decorated with beautiful carvings, was parked in the centre of the courtyard. Six reindeer were harnessed in front of it. There was a seat covered with fur in the front of the sleigh; the rest was covered with packages wrapped in coloured paper. Elves were constantly bringing new packages from the palace or from one of the many heaps of parcels in the courtyard, and loading them onto the sleigh.

The door of the palace was open, and Rudolph caught a glimpse of a tall figure dressed in red. That must have been Klaus, he thought. He seemed busy with something inside.

The small sleighs Rudolph had been following had been pulled along one of the walls of the courtyard; Rudolph came closer and watched as the elves untied the reindeer and told them:

"There! Now you can go to sleep, and so can we; let the night shift do the rest of the work!"

The reindeer walked lazily in one direction, and the elves went in another. No one had paid any attention to Rudolph, who was now left alone near the sleighs and their load.

Rudolph examined the parcels, poking the ones on top a little with his head to move them out of the way. Soon he caught sight of the long package with the little card that said _Nimbus 1722._

Rudolph hadn't come to the Ice Palace with the idea of stealing the broomstick; he hadn't come there with any idea at all. But now that he was so close to it, that he was actually touching it with his nose, the temptation was too strong. He opened his mouth, grabbed the wrapped broom with his teeth and started to pull it out of the sleigh.


	4. Klaus

It wasn't easy. Rudolph made quite a mess, with some of the smaller parcels from the top of the heap ending up in the snow beside the sleigh, but he finally managed to pull the broomstick out. He gripped it firmly with his teeth and started towards the gate. So desperate was his longing for the _Nimbus 1722_ that he suddenly felt a mad courage. He thought he might be able to pass the polar bears guarding the gate safely — after all, a reindeer carrying a parcel didn't seem to be such a strange sight in this place. And if they decided to go after him, he'd still have a chance of escaping if he quickly changed into his human form and mounted the broom. Polar bears couldn't fly; at least, Rudolph hoped they couldn't.

He tried to walk as casually as possible so that no one would notice that he was doing anything wrong; he was very near the gate when a strong voice bellowed:

"Petrificus totalus!" 

Rudolph felt the familiar tinkling sensation he would always have whenever a spell hit him; when it was over he was unable to move an inch. It felt as if all his muscles were frozen. Had he been in his human form, he would have lost balance and fallen into the snow; having four legs, however, he managed to remain standing. He could do nothing but stand there, holding the stolen parcel between his teeth and listening to the footsteps coming closer to him.

A large man dressed in red approached him and stood in front of him, wand in hand.

"I'll lift the spell, but I wouldn't be a wise idea for you to try and run away," he said. Rudolph tried to nod, but was unable to move his head; he closed and opened his eyes instead, hoping that the wizard would understand that as a "Yes_."_

_"Finite Incantatem,"_ the wizard said. Rudolph shook his head a little to check if he was really able to move again, and then he looked into Klaus's face — for he knew that the wizard in red clothes must have been Klaus.

The wizard had a long, white beard and his bushy eyebrows were white as well; the expression in his blue eyes was sad rather than angry.

"Why did you do that, you foolish boy?" Klaus asked in a reproachful voice. "And don't pretend that you don't understand me — I know that you're an Animagus and not a real reindeer."

Rudolph looked down at the snow. He wasn't able to answer the question in his animal shape, but he didn't wish to transform back into his true form now. After all, he wouldn't know what to say to the old wizard anyway, so perhaps it was better to remain a reindeer.

Klaus reached with his hands and took the broomstick Rudolph was still gripping with his teeth. He began to unwrap it; Rudolph looked around and noticed that several elves had stopped working and were gathering around them to see what was happening. Even some of the reindeer had approached them and were looking at Rudolph with great interest.

Klaus was inspecting the unwrapped _Nimbus 1722_ and shaking his head sadly.

"Do you see these teeth marks you left in the wood?" he said. "The elves will have to repair the broomstick before I can deliver it to the child who is to get it. I can't give someone a damaged present! Of course, had you succeeded in stealing it, that child might not have received a present at all this Christmas."

Rudolph was unable to say that he was sorry, so he looked down at the snow again.

Klaus turned to the elves that were watching them.

"Which ones of you are working in the night shift tonight? Here, take this broomstick to the workshop and have it repaired."

Two elves took one end of the broomstick each and hurried into the Palace carrying it. Klaus turned to Rudolph again.

"So, what should I do with you now? You attempted to steal from me — not only from me, but also from a child you don't know. I think it would only be fair if you remained here for a week and helped me with my work."

Rudolph nodded. He agreed that it would be fair thing to do, and it didn't sound like a bad thing at all — now that he had seen the Ice Palace with the polar bears and elves and endless piles of presents, he wasn't in such a hurry to go home.

"You will be much more help to me in your present shape than as a boy. Besides, I have no reason to trust you enough to let you get hold of your wand. You'll have to remain a reindeer the whole week," Klaus said and lifted up his wand again. He waved it and said:

"_Forma Immutabilis!_"

Rudolph felt just a slight tingling sensation, but could notice no change. Klaus told him:

"This spell prevents you to change your shape. I will lift it at the end of the week."

Rudolph nodded again.

"We should start in an hour. Do what you like until then," Klaus said and went back into the Ice Palace. The elves returned to what they had been doing before, and one of the reindeer asked Rudolph:

"Are you going to work here with us?"

"Yes, I am," Rudolph said.

"But you're not really one of us, are you? There's something strange about you."

"Yes. I mean — no, I'm not really one of you. I'm a wizard."

"And what's wrong with your nose?" a young reindeer asked. An older one told him disapprovingly:

"That was a very impolite question to ask, Blitzen!"

But Rudolph wasn't offended by the question, so he explained that someone had turned his nose red using magic. The reindeer didn't ask him any more questions — they knew nothing about magic and weren't interested in it at all.

They told Rudolph that there was hay and water for them to the left of the palace, and Rudolph was glad to hear it. He was feeling hungry, and hay suddenly sounded like the most delicious food he could imagine.

* * *

After he had finished eating, Rudolph asked one of the reindeer:

"Are reindeer allowed to go inside the Ice Palace?"

"Well… I suppose we are, because no one ever said that it was forbidden. But why would we want to go there?" the reindeer said.

"I'd like to see it," Rudolph said and went towards the large, arched door that was the entrance to the palace. A group of elves was coming out through the door, each one holding several packages; they didn't seem to mind Rudolph going in, so he walked through the door and into the palace.

He found himself in a large hall, its floor made of snow, its walls of ice; there were chairs and tables, all made of ice, and a massive white fireplace. There were several Christmas trees in the hall — huge, living trees growing out of the snow. Each one was decorated differently: the one nearest to Rudolph was covered with stars and moons that looked as if they were made of crystal glass, but when Rudolph came closer and touched one of them with his nose he realised that they were made of ice. Another tree was decorated with red apples and gingerbread figures, a third one with silk ribbons and with candles enchanted to burn with blue and purple flames.

Elves were sitting or standing around the tables, wrapping some books and toys in brightly coloured paper. They were working with unbelievable speed and skill, so Rudolph hardly had time to see the presents before they were wrapped up.

He walked over to the fireplace and found, to his great surprise, that it was made of snow and ice just like everything else in the palace. A bright and warm fire was burning inside it, making the temperature in the hall very pleasant, but the fireplace didn't show any signs of melting. There was a beautiful ice sculpture of the sun above the fireplace, reflecting some of the golden glow of the fire.

Rudolph walked around the hall, the red light from his nose casting strange reflections on the white walls. There were several doors leading to other parts of the palace, with signs carved above them. TO THE WORKSHOPS, one of them said; TO THE ELVES' DORMITORIES, said another. Other doors led TO THE POST OFFICE, TO THE OWLERY and TO THE GINGERBREAD BAKERY.

After looking around the hall, Rudolph returned to one of the tables and watched the elves wrap up the presents. Other elves were hurrying in and out of the palace all the time, taking the parcels and carrying them outside. Rudolph remained there, watching them, until Klaus came into the hall through one of the doors and said:

"Time to go!"

Rudolph followed the wizard outside. The large wooden sleigh was so overloaded with presents that it was a miracle they were not falling out. There were eight reindeer in front of it now, all harnessed; there didn't seem to be room for one more. Rudolph looked at Klaus, unsure of where he was supposed to go.


	5. Guiding the sleigh

"You will be the first one, in front of all the other reindeer," Klaus told him. "The moon is very bright here, but it might be hidden behind the clouds in other places. The… how shall I put it… peculiar properties of your nose might prove to be very useful in the darkness."

He looked at Rudolph thoughtfully.

"It was a hex, wasn't it? The _lanterna rubea_?"

Rudolph nodded. He hadn't heard Octavian's incantation very clearly, but it did sound very much like _lanterna rubea_.

"Don't worry," Klaus told him. "It will wear off by itself once your week is over and you leave the Ice Palace. In any other place but this one it would have disappeared already."

Rudolph wondered what it was about the Ice Palace that prevented the effects of the hex from wearing off. Had he been able to speak, he would have asked the wizard about it.

In fact, he thought as he watched the elves tie ropes around the enormous pile of presents in the sleigh, there was something else he would ask first had it been possible for him to speak. How was he going to lead the sleigh? He didn't know which way they were supposed to go!

"We're starting a bit late today — we'd better hurry up now! Did you take the Floo powder?" Klaus asked one of the elves.

"Yes, sir, it's here!" the elf said, pointing to a large bag under the fur-covered seat on the sleigh. Rudolph looked at the bag, wondering what the Floo powder was for; Klaus was apparently able to notice the expression of surprise in a reindeer's face, because he told him:

"Not all wizards know about this, but I see no harm in telling you. During the night before Christmas all homes — even Muggle ones — are connected to the Floo Network."

Rudolph turned to look at him, his eyes still wide with surprise.

"Well, I can't go climbing down every chimney, can I?" Klaus said. "I'm a large man, and some chimneys would be too narrow even for an elf."

Rudolph thought about it and decided that it made sense. One of the elves walked up to him and asked him to follow him to where the other reindeer were standing.

As he walked after the elf, he heard Klaus calling after him:

"When you reach the top of the hill, just keep running!"

Rudolph wondered what it was that the old wizard was talking about.

He stood in front of the other eight reindeer; suddenly there were two or three elves around him, fastening leather straps around his head, neck and body. They worked as quickly as they did when they had been packing the presents and it wasn't long before Rudolph was in full harness like all the other reindeer.

Rudolph turned anxiously to ask the two reindeer behind him:

"How shall I know where to go?"

"Don't worry about it," they told him. "Just start when you hear the whip cracking. You'll feel in which direction they're pulling the reins."

"Tell me if I do something wrong, will you?" Rudolph said, and they promised to do so.

Rudolph watched Klaus sit down in the large, fur-covered seat; an elf sat in a small seat in front of him and took the reins in his hands, and several other elves sat among the presents piled up in the sleigh.

In a little while the elf sitting at the front cracked his whip, and Rudolph started towards the open gate. There was nothing but snow outside, stretching as far as he could see, reflecting the bright moonlight. As he passed through the gate, the polar bear with who had spoken to him earlier gave him a friendly nod and said:

"So you did get the job! Good for you!"

Rudolph could see a hill slightly to his right and knew that it had to be the one that Klaus had mentioned, because otherwise the land around him was completely flat. He felt a pull on the reins signalling that he should go right, so he turned and galloped towards the hill. It felt good to run as fast as he could, listening to the soft sound of hooves on the snow and the tinkling of harness bells behind him. The weight of the sleigh wasn't very difficult to pull at all.

When he was just a few feet away from the top of the hill, he thought about Klaus's words. _When you reach the top of the hill, just keep running_, the old wizard had said. Why? What else did he think Rudolph would do?

Then he reached the top and understood.

On the other side of the hill, the slope was only five or six feet long. Then it ended abruptly, and the path they were taking seemed to lead into an abyss.

Rudolph turned to look behind, and all the reindeer shouted:

"It's alright! Don't be afraid! Go on!"

It was too late to stop anyway; he had gained too much momentum. Rudolph closed his eyes and ran downhill, comforted by the knowledge that the other reindeer were following him. After a while he thought he must have ran over the edge already, but he could still feel the snow under his hooves — or, at least, so he thought. When he opened his eyes he could see the snow, bright in the moonlight, far beneath him. He seemed to be walking on an invisible path in the air.

A pull on his reins signalled that he should turn slightly to the southeast. Rudolph ran through the night air and watched the land underneath. He wasn't afraid of heights at all because he was used to flying on a broomstick, and this felt even more enjoyable. He remembered how he'd wished he would become a bird Animagus so that he would be able to fly without a broom. Who would have thought that it was possible for a reindeer to fly?

After a while Rudolph could see a small town underneath them, the roofs covered with snow and a few of the windows still lit up with a warm, yellow light. He felt a slight tug on the reins telling him to go downwards, onto the roof of a large house. The roof was very steep, but after all the strange things that had happened Rudolph wasn't surprised to find that he was able to stand on it very easily without slipping.

He almost stopped when he reached the edge of the roof, but the other reindeer shouted:

"Hey! Move on! Where do you think the rest of us are going to stand? On air?"

Rudolph moved forward until he was certain that the four pairs of reindeer behind him and the sleigh had all landed safely on the roof. The sleigh was so tilted to one side on the steep roof that it looked as if the presents would start falling out, but they didn't — they were perfectly stable.

Klaus stood up and stepped out of the sleigh. He unwrapped a very long roll of parchment and read two names from it — probably the names of the children living in the house. The elves immediately took several parcels out of the sleigh and placed them into Klaus's hands.

"And the Floo powder!" Klaus said, and one of the elves reached for the bag under the seat and added it to the top of the bundle Klaus was holding.

It looked as if the old wizard was going to have difficulties keeping his balance on the slippery roof with his hands full, but he walked up to the chimney without any trouble. The chimney was very broad and Klaus was able to climb down inside it easily. After a while his voice was heard from inside, calling out another name. The elves took the right presents out of the sleigh and dropped them down the chimney. There was a faint flash of emerald green light from the chimney. Then a few moments' pause, another flash of green light, and Klaus's voice calling out another name.

So that was how he did it, Rudolph thought. He didn't have to climb down every chimney. He just had to find the largest one, and he would reach the other homes in the vicinity through the Floo Network.

It went on for some time. Klaus would call out another name, the elves would find the right presents, and there would be a flash of emerald light from inside.

Rudolph asked one of the reindeer behind him:

"What if there is no house with a chimney large enough in an entire town or village?"

"Oh, there is always at least one," the reindeer told him. "The wizards take care of that."

Finally Klaus climbed out of the chimney and said cheerfully:

"Well, we're done here! Let's go on!"


	6. The Girl at the Door

They visited several other towns and villages that night. Although it never took more than ten minutes for the sleigh to arrive at its next destination, these places must all have been at quite a distance from each other because the differences between them were so big. The first town lay under a clear, starry sky; in the village they visited next it was snowing so hard they could hardly see where they were going. Still the elf holding the reins somehow knew where to lead the reindeer.

After that they visited several villages in which it wasn't snowing, but the moon and the stars were hidden behind clouds. The elf in the coachman's seat knew the way every time and he would guide the reindeer in the right direction, but Rudolph's shiny nose proved to be very useful as well: it would illuminate every roof just enough for the reindeer to find the best place to land.

The next village they visited was by the sea, under a clear sky and without a trace of snow. Once again it seemed to be very far away from the last place they had visited, yet it didn't take them long to arrive there. Rudolph had the impression that they had been travelling on invisible snow-covered paths in the sky, paths that were somehow shorter than any road on earth.

In each of the villages they visited they would stop on the roof of a big house with a spacious chimney, and Klaus would climb down into the fireplace with his bag of Floo powder; the elves would find the presents he was calling for with amazing speed and throw them down the chimney for him to catch. It was fascinating to watch at first, but after a while Rudolph felt a bit bored.

In one of the snow-covered villages they must have made too much noise while they were landing on the roof, because a light soon went on in the house across them. Rudolph noticed a silhouette against the lit window; then the flickering light of the lamp left the upstairs room and appeared downstairs; soon the door opened and a little girl stepped out of the house dressed only in her nightgown. She raised the lantern she was holding in hand as high as she could, as if she thought it could illuminate the sky.

A few moments later a man and a woman came out of the house and the man took the child in his arms. All three of them started talking at the same time; Rudolph could hear the girl saying: "But I'm sure I heard…" and the mother telling her in a worried voice that she'd catch cold. The lantern the child was holding was casting a golden light on them. In a few moments they were inside the house again and the door closed behind them. Everything was dark again.

Rudolph kept looking at the house, a painful feeling growing inside him. What were his parents doing now? Did they think something terrible had happened to him? Had they gone to search the woods for him?

He felt like crying, but he couldn't: reindeer don't cry. In frustration, he raised one of his front hooves and then slammed it hard onto the roof.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing!" said one of the other reindeer. "What we're doing is supposed to be a secret!"

Finally the sleigh was emptied and it was time to return to the Ice Palace. The reindeer started whispering among themselves about the delicious hay they were going to have for supper. To his surprise, Rudolph himself felt that hay was the tastiest meal he could possibly imagine, and the only thing he wanted even more than hay was a good night's sleep… or, to be correct, a good day's sleep.

The elf cracked his whip and Rudolph took off into the air, followed by the other reindeer. After a minute or two he heard heavy snoring; obviously, Klaus had fallen asleep in the sleigh.

Not before long the invisible path in the air sloped downwards and led onto the same hill over which they had ascended into the air. The ice palace sparkled in front of them, reflecting the starlight. Feeling very tired now, Rudolph led the way through the gates and into the courtyard. Rudolph noticed that a different pair of polar bears was on guard duty now. He was surprised that he was able to notice that; in his human shape he would never have noticed the difference between two polar bears' faces.

In the courtyard the elves quickly unfastened the reindeer's harness straps, talking among themselves about how sleepy they were and how they were going to sleep the whole day. The reindeer hurried to the side of the palace where hay and water were waiting for them.

Rudolph felt very sleepy, and so did the other reindeer, which fell asleep almost immediately after eating. They slept outside, in the courtyard; a shelter wasn't necessary that night because the sky was still clear and full of stars. Tired though he was, Rudolph didn't like the idea of sleeping outside very much so he went inside the palace.

The hall was just as busy as it had been the first time he saw it — the elves working the day shift were already busy wrapping up presents, and Klaus was giving them instructions. He noticed Rudolph and gave him a kind smile. The elves that had been helping Klaus during the night passed by on their way from their dining room to the dormitories, talking and laughing and nibbling on Christmas cakes.

Nobody seemed to mind Rudolph being there, but he felt uncomfortable after a while. The icy floor of the hall was too smooth; it wasn't exactly slippery, but snow had felt much better under his hooves. It was also too warm for him inside — the warmth from the fireplace would undoubtedly have felt good had he been in his human shape, but it felt uncomfortable for an animal with thick fur. Finally Rudolph went outside to sleep in the courtyard, like all the other reindeer. When he closed his eyes he saw the faces of his parents again, and wondered if they thought he was dead.

"Well, at least Octavian might be accused of my murder and sent to prison," he said to himself. The thought of Octavian behind bars brightened him up somewhat so, tired as he was, he fell asleep easily.

* * *

When he woke up it was dark again, and elves were already starting to load the sleigh with presents. After eating his breakfast — or perhaps it was his supper, because it was evening — Rudolph came over to the elves to watch what they were doing. They were glad he was there because this night was not quite as bright as the previous one; the moon would occasionally hide behind a cloud, and then Rudolph's nose would illuminate the sleigh like a lantern.

After a while Klaus came out of the palace and, seeing Rudolph there, said to him:

"Ah, there you are, red-nosed reindeer. You'll be glad to learn that the elves have repaired the broomstick you have damaged. It's almost as good as new, although not quite."

Klaus gestured for Rudolph to follow him inside, went over to one of the large tables where the elves were wrapping up presents, and picked up a broomstick that was among the yet unwrapped ones. He held it for Rudolph to see; it was the Nimbus 1722 he had tried to steal. The teeth marks he had left on it were now just barely visible under a new layer of polish; indeed, Rudolph wasn't at all sure whether he would have seen them if he hadn't known exactly where to look for them.

After a few hours the sleigh was loaded with as many presents as it could carry and more, and all the reindeer were in harness, with Rudolph in the front just like the previous night. Klaus called out:

"Everyone ready? Is the Floo powder here? All, right, let's go!"


End file.
